Leader - Hi and welcome to BCA or Bladder Cancer Anonymous. Do we have any new people joining us tonight?
Jerry - Hi, my name is Jerry and I have stage 2B muscle invasive bladder cancer and it's been 2 days since I've seen my last doctor.
Group - Welcome Jerry!
OK, enough of the AA satire. But there you have it. I wanted to start a blog for a few reasons. First, I want to journal this unexpected journey I am about to travel. From the day the doctor informed me of this condition, I knew a new life was just beginning - My new reality. Second, I wanted a way that I could share this journey with family and friends. And third and most important, I wanted a way to share my experience in the hope that it might help prevent someone from unfortunately taking this journey. Or if someone should find themselves on this path, I hope I can share some knowledge on what I've learned, mistakes I have or will make, and experiences of what they might expect to encounter. I hope to be brutally honest and truthful.
So let's get started....
I was told of my bladder cancer on 3/17/15. I had my 2nd bladder biopsy on 3/12/15. I had my 1st bladder biopsy on.... You know this seems boring, but if I am going to help anyone out there avoid this I need to start at the real beginning. But I don't want to do this history crap all at once because it will put both you and I asleep. So how about I give a little history each day. And if any of this history sounds familiar - run - don't walk - to your nearest urologist!!!!
History Lesson 1 -
Like most men, I can avoid going to a doctor over a little body pain that comes and goes for years. And so for maybe 5-10 years I would have these episodes where I would have trouble urinating. These episodes would last for about 1-2 days and would many times happen after I had a strenuous workout - but not always. They would happen maybe once every couple of months. And I would know it was starting when I would get a sudden urge that I needed to urinate NOW. So I would run to the bathroom and hopefully make it in time to feel this burning sensation as the urine slowly expelled itself in an amount of a couple ounces. And then within 30 mins., I'd have to go again with the same result. And sometimes, but not always, there would be the slight presence of blood. I thought I was curing this condition by drinking lots of cranberry juice and water. And usually by the next morning everything was fine.
Well enough with history for tonight, I have an 8:00 appointment with an IHC (my healthcare provider) oncologist in Salt Lake tomorrow morn. That means an early rise for a 2 hr drive.
Goodnight.
